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The Indian squad was just about to leave for the Beijing Olympics '08. Out of the blue came a shocker that Monika Devi, the lone weightlifter in the squad had tested positive. It was a rather shameful moment for an already shamed Indian Weightlifting Federation. They had just seen through one of the dark ages of the sport, Commonwealth Golds getting stripped, the Indian weightlifing team being banned from competing etc.

Immediately afterwards came the usual I didn't do it, anger and liters of tears spanning across news TV channels, print and electronic media in all languages. A day or two afterwards came the news that Monika Devi is indeed clean.

But, that wasn't the climax. Monika didn't take the next available flight to Beijing, why ?

Because the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) refused to reopen the entry process for Monika. The reason being, there was too less time left for them to reopen the entry process and for her to be flown to Beijing and take part in her event.

@SP: Bingo !! I would probably add one more point to your observation, they want to take the safe tried and tested route. I am sure Q would be able to tell us better about the depth of talent available in Pakistan cricket today.

But PCB I am sure thinks that these certain players with tons of runs and bundles of wickets are a safer bet compared to the greenhorn's

@SP: I think PCB run a statsguru on players and then say, ya this guy scored 3 years ago, that guy took wickets 4 years back so take them in...

No domestic performance, practice required.

I completely agree with you that they are in a way wasting a test place and killing a deserved player.

In the long run they would completely kill the game in their country by discouraging the talent available.

More than the Razzak selection, Yusuf baffles me... A poor mover in the field, at 34 years and 310 days how long is he going to play ? How fit is he to toil for 5 long days ? What value does he bring to the Pak team of today ?

Yousuf is selfish, but he is also an amazing batsman. As a Pakistani, I would prefer Yousuf over any other middle order batsman we've got (in tests), including Younis and Misbah.

As far as Asif is concerned, he is without a doubt, the best seamer of his generation. Nobody can dispute his record. He has been able to run through batting lineups even on the dead sub-continent tracks. He lost his way, yes, but you can not just let talent like that go to waste.

He has been playing cricket regularly for the past year, practicing with the national team and representing the PCB Academy (which btw has a very good team) against several different domestic teams. He was also part of the national team camp that was held before the T20 worldcup. So, he is in game shape and barring any further mishaps, will be ready to take on the world in September.

I'm sorry, I forgot to talk about Yousuf's fitness. He has been working out at the academy ever since he got back into the national fold. Like Asif, he too has been playing for the Academy team against strong domestic opposition.

Pakistan is in the midst of building up a very nice pace battery with the likes of Amir, Talha, Irfan etc; and Yousuf has been getting his touch back by playing all of them at the academy for the past few months. Then again, nothing makes you match fit like matches themselves, but he has done everything that might help him to hit the ground running.

There you go, you guys didn't have to wait for Q to fill you in. Not that I'm trying to take his place. :)